John Gage Prendergast Vereker, 5th Viscount Gort (28 January 1849 – 15 August 1902) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

peer, landowner and

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer.

Biography

Vereker was born in 1849, the son of

Standish Vereker, 4th Viscount Gort Viscount Gort is the title of two peerages in British and Irish history. Gort is a small town in County Galway in the West of Ireland. The original title was in the Peerage of Ireland and is extant. A viscountcy with the same title as the Irish ...

(1819–1900) by his wife Caroline Harriet Gage, daughter of the 4th Viscount Gage. He was educated at Harrow, and joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, where he advanced to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the 4th Brigade, South Irish Division. He acted as British Consul at

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

in 1879. Following his return to the United Kingdom, he was a

Justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

and for the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, where his father left him the

East Cowes Castle East Cowes Castle, located in East Cowes, was the home of architect John Nash between its completion and his death in 1835. Nash himself was the designer of the site, and began construction as early as 1798. It was completed in 1800 and was ...

in 1895. The castle had been built by the architect John Nash as his own home, and was completed in 1800. It was inherited by the 4th Viscount Gort from his stepmother, whose first husband George Tudor had bought it as a family home. Vereker took a great interest in scientific and political questions, especially in the religious and educational aspects of political life, and was for many years Chairman of the Durham Diocesan Church Defence Committee. He succeeded his father as the 5th Viscount Gort in 1900, already in frail health, and died in Homburg only two years later, on 15 August 1902. His remains were interred in

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...

parish churchyard on 23 August 1902.

Family

Vereker married, in 1885, Eleanor Surtees, daughter and co-heiress of

Robert Smith Surtees Robert Smith Surtees (17 May 180516 March 1864) was an English editor, novelist and sporting writer, widely known as R. S. Surtees. He was the second son of Anthony Surtees of Hamsterley Hall, a member of an old County Durham family. He is rem ...

(1805–1864), by his wife Elizabeth Jane Fenwick. Surtees had left

Hamsterley Hall Hamsterley Hall is an 18th-century English country house at Hamsterley, Rowlands Gill, County Durham, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. The estate at Hamsterley was given, in 1762, by Sir John Swinburne Bt to his younger brother Henry ...

to his daughter Eleanor on his death. Lord and Lady Gort had two sons, who both succeeded to the title: *

John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort Field Marshal John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, (10 July 1886 – 31 March 1946) was a senior British Army officer. As a young officer during the First World War, he was decorated with the Victoria Cross for his acti ...

(1886–1946) *

Standish Vereker, 7th Viscount Gort Standish Robert Gage Prendergast Vereker, 7th Viscount Gort, (12 February 1888 – 21 May 1975) was an Anglo-Irish peer, connoisseur and collector of fine art, antiques, and objets d'art, whose seat was at Hamsterley Hall, County Durham. He was ap ...

(1888–1975) Lady Gort continued to live at East Cowes Castle after her husband´s death, and remarried, in 1907, Colonel Starling Maux Benson, of the

17th Lancers The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lanc ...

. Both she and her second husband died in 1933.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gort, John Vereker, 5th Viscount 1849 births 1902 deaths English people of Dutch descent Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland People educated at Harrow School Schuyler family Van Cortlandt family Royal Artillery officers

Biography

Family

See also

References